Johnny Jones was a Nashville blues guitar master who got his first big break playing behind Junior Wells back in the 1950s. By the ’60s, Jones was playing in a band called the King Casuals alongside Billy Cox and a young Jimi Hendrix. It was in this combo that Jones reportedly tutored Hendrix in the fine art of guitar playing, helping to turn him into the icon we know of today. And legend has it that one night while on a club stage during the ’60s, Jones and Hendrix went head to head in a guitar duel that rivaled anything Robert Johnsonand the devil might have thrown at each other at the crossroads. Those in attendance clearly cheered Jones on as the “winner.” Johnny Jones stayed a constant fixture in the Nashville music scene through recent years. He was found dead in his apartment during the morning hours of October 14, 2009. He was 73 years old.
Thanks to Jon Grimson who produced the segment below.
Jimi Hendrix was unquestionably the greatest guitarist rock music has ever known. With one foot firmly planted in the blues and the other in jazz, Hendrix took the best of both, added some fire and created a guitar sound like had never been heard. It makes no sense to list those he’s directly influenced here, because it would likely lead to the end of the internet. Unless you count the broomstick Hendrix strummed on as a child, the first guitar he ever played was at the age of 15. He went on to teach himself how to play by watching others on TV or by listening to records. After a stint in the army, Hendrix began playing guitar professionally, mostly along the so-called chitlin’ circuit. In 1964, Hendrix was hired by Little Richard to record and play on the road in his band. Within a couple of years, he formed his own band, Jimmy James & the Blue Flames, with whom he began building a reputation around the southeast. That band included rhythm guitarist, Randy California who would later form the band Spirit. Hendrix soon formed the Jimi Hendrix Experience with Mitch Mitchell, Noel Redding, and Billy Cox. That group would record three of the most acclaimed albums in history, Are You Experienced?, Axis: Bold As Love, and Electric Ladyland. After disbanding the Experience, Hendrix formed Band of Gypsys with Cox and Buddy Miles. They recorded a popular live album of the same name, released just three months before Hendrix’s death which is still shrouded in mystery to this day. What is known is that Jimi Hendrix was just 27 years old when he died on September 18, 1970. The official cause of death was determined to be choking on his own vomit. The coroner found an excessive amount of wine and sleeping pills in his body. There are some who believed he committed suicide while others thought it to be an accidental overdose. And still others believe something more sinister had taken place.